About us

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Bridgewater) is a leading provider of community health services in the north west of England. We provide high quality community and specialist services to 1,304,500 people living in:

Community Dental Network (provides services in all of the above areas plus Bolton, Tameside, Trafford, Glossop, Stockport and western Cheshire)

The majority of our services are delivered in patients’ homes or at locations close to where they live, such as clinics, health centres, GP practices, community centres and schools. As a provider of both mainstream and specialist care our role is to focus on providing cost effective NHS care by keeping people out of hospital and supporting vulnerable people throughout their lives. As a dedicated provider of community services our strategy is to bring more care closer to home – this means providing a wider range of services in community settings to keep people healthier for longer and developing more specialist services to support people to live independently at home. We employ 3,400 staff and have an income of £140 million which comes from our commissioners, who include Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS England and local authorities.

Foundation Trust We achieved Foundation Trust status in 2014 and are looking to use our position to transform the provision of healthcare for our communities. We will involve patients and local people in our decisions about the services we provide and where they are delivered – you can become a member now.

Our services at a glanceChild Health: health visiting, school nursing, child development centres, complex needs, safeguarding, child and adolescent mental health, children’s community therapy. Health and Wellbeing: sexual health. Urgent Care: walk in centres, district nurses (including out of hours), GP out of hours, intermediate care, home-based intravenous therapy. Long Term Conditions: community neurosciences, continence, community matrons, services for people with diabetes, stroke, respiratory and heart problems. Specialist Services: dermatology, orthopaedic and musculo-skeletal, podiatry, cancer and palliative care, wheelchairs and equipment, community physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, learning disabilities and falls prevention. Offender Health: services in prisons and young offender institutions in our area – HM Young Offenders Institute Hindley, HM Prison Risley and HM Prison Thorn Cross. Dental: oral health promotion, specialist dental services for people with physical and learning disabilities, looked after children and those with anxiety issues.

Mission: To improve local health and promote wellbeing in the communities we serve. We will do this by working closely with local people and partners to promote good health and to be a leading provider of excellent community healthcare services in the North West.